Revisited for the first time in at least twenty years during a retrospective at my neighborhood's movie theater. I remember my extremely premature encounter with the film, as it traumatized me emotionally while at the same time introducing me to an entirely new style of filmmaking.

The manipulative melodrama might raise some eyebrows, but it serves as a perfect counterpoint to the gritty realism of the cinematography. Instead of settling for a superficial critique of the American dream in a pseudo-neorealist fashion, the film filters everything through the protagonist's love for musicals and Hollywood sentimentalism, which becomes the driving force behind the narrative. Selma's presumed integrity and unconditional love for her son remain underdeveloped, as they only serve as the backbone of the narrative. Much like Björk's music video for "It's Oh So Quiet," which seemingly inspired the film's screenplay, Selma clings to the "music" that emanates from the sounds of everyday life, utilizing them as a gateway to an imaginary world of musicals—an idyllic escape from her disease and hypocrisies that plague her reality. The film's first half fuels the flames of sentimentality with malice, as everything is aimed at delivering a powerful blow once the viewer is brought back to reality.

While I do appreciate Björk's music and found her first and last appearance as an actress surprisingly convincing, the songs she contributed to the score are more miss than hits. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that their dissonant quality proves immensely fitting in the second half of the film, where the contrast between the musical world and the actual events becomes painful. Personally, I would have filmed the musical segments in a more traditional and lavish manner to heighten the contrast further.

The only aspect that truly bothered me was how contrived some pivotal plot twists tend to be. For instance, [spoiler]the scene in which Selma kills the police officer ends up feeling somewhat pathetic, with him imploring her to take his life as the only way to afford the child's operation (???). A single gunshot would have sufficed to ensure Selma's death penalty, or she could have simply lost control. Not to mention the wife who leaves him there agonizing when she could have easily called the police from downstairs. It was also quite stupid that the girls at the factory not only arbitrarily recycled the money from Gene's operation to pay for the lawyer but also didn't bother adding a single cent to the amount. I understand that otherwise, Selma wouldn't have noticed, but come on.[/spoiler]

It feels weird rating a film 10 out of 10 as I've only ever done it about 20 times. I'm not a fan of musicals, and I possibly wouldn't have watched this if I knew it was a musical, but I'm fond of Bjork's music. I completely loved this movie. It blew me away. Extraordinary, moving, incredible, fantastic. Not enough superlatives to describe it.

It's well documented that Bjork had her run ins with von Trier on set, but whatever happened worked in the film sense at least, because she is utterly fantastic. Selma's romantic ambitions to make it in the USA are as delusional as the American dream itself. Perhaps that's why this movie wasn't that well received in America - because it's a thinly veiled criticism on the country and its' psyche. Selma says at one point : "In a musical, nothing dreadful ever happens", well von Trier put that to bed with his bleak but beautiful Dogme style. The way the music numbers appear from the most mundane sounds is nothing short of brilliance.

This movie made me feel like I want to feel when I watch movies, then again if they were all like this none would stand out in the crowd. Bjork is perfect, the script is perfect, the direction is perfect. It's perfect.

Ok, I must admit...I skipped a few...a bunch of the singing. I don't hate musicals, but the singing lasted way too long in all of the scenes...and sometimes you didn't even need the musical. I honestly felt that those parts could have benefited from being shorter.

The movie itself wasn't terrible. I won't say I loved it. The camera-work was a bit...well...not the best. I didn't love when they zoomed in on things they wanted you to notice. [spoiler] She puts 2 plates down at work... They zoom in...not even a good zoom in, and you can kind of see the 2 plates...but it wasn't needed because Kathy comes and corrects her. [/spoiler]
[spoiler]
Also, some of the scenes were probably not well acted...The murder scene...I honestly didn't think it was needed for her to get the money. not 100% and the court. [/spoiler]

[spoiler]Her singing when she was about to be hung, I honestly forgot she was about to be hung, then bam, she's falling. [/spoiler] I will admit that I felt really bad and cried a few times. The story was a sad one. Not one I'd pay for, but not a terrible watch. Not something I'd re-watch.

Dazzling Björk in this indictment against the death sentence, in tight close-ups. This film is a UFO, musical without being.